New Music from Missy Raines, Scotlands Paul McKenna Band Now Available

August 28, 2013

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Emily Amos (615) 320-7672

New Music from Bass Virtuoso Missy Raines and Scotland’s Paul McKenna Band Now Available

Raines Finds Her Indie Rock Voice;

McKenna Launches Scottish Folk Music into the 21st Century

(Nashville, TN) August 27, 2013 – Compass Records has just released two new albums for the month of August – New Frontier, the indie rock offering from bass virtuoso Missy Raines, and Elements, a refreshingly original Scottish folk album from Scotland’s own Paul McKenna Band.

“Raines’s voice, at times plaintive and pleading, fierce and blustery, really shines,” says Deep South Magazine, also praising The New Hip’s “Strokes-esque” guitar solos and effects, coupled with stripped-down mandolin and acoustic guitar. Highlighted as The Bluegrass Situation’s August Artist of the Month, Raines finds her voice as an Americana bandleader with strong indie-rock undercurrents, while building on her bluegrass upbringing. She’s a beloved musician in the bluegrass world as the 7-time International Bluegrass Music Award-winner for Bass Player of the Year, again nominated for the title in this year’s IBMA Awards.

Says Raines; “It was really about boiling it down to what was most important to me in the world, and then finding the courage to go after it.” She emphasizes the album’s empowering message: Follow your heart. It will not be easy and it will not be painless, but if you do it, it is absolutely worth it.

Missy Raines will be on tour this fall with her band The New Hip promoting New Frontier, with southeastern performances at the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s World of Bluegrass festival, The Station Inn in Nashville, and Mountain Stage in West Virginia, with a west coast tour to follow this October.View her full tour dates here.

Meanwhile, when the award-winning Paul McKenna Band picks up their native instruments of the bouzouki or bodrhan, they launch Scottish folk music into the 21st century with explosive arrangements and fiery vocals on trad and original songs and tunes alike.

LiveIreland calls Elements “a brand new tasty treat…Sensational!” and TradConnect says, “Their tight-as-roofing-nails arrangements, adventurous choice of songs that will stick with you, and hell-for-leather instrumental tune playing really reminds me of the best parts of Solas…Paul’s voice is powerful and beautiful, but also filled with a kind of charisma that makes you sit up and take listen.”

The Gibson Brothers Top the List with 8 nominations; Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Claire Lynch, Peter Rowan also among nominees for this year’s IBMA Awards in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 26

(Nashville, TN) August 15, 2013 – Nominees for the 2013 International Bluegrass Music Awards were announced last night at a press conference at the Loveless Barn in Nashville, where Compass Records bluegrass bands and their respective members received the most nominations out of any label with 22 total nominations. Reigning Entertainers of the Year The Gibson Brothers topped the list with a collective eight nominations, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen received five total nominations and Claire Lynch and her band garnered four. A full list of nominations can be read here.

“We are honored and humbled by the nominations we have received,” says Eric Gibson, “Thank you to the IBMA voters for this incredible honor and congratulations to all of the nominees.” Individually and as an ensemble, members of the Gibson Brothers received nominations for Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group, Album of the Year for their new project They Called It Music, Song of the Year for “They Called It Music,” and Gospel Recorded Event for “Home on the River.” Eric Gibson was also nominated in the Bluegrass Songwriter category along with Louisa Branscomb. Gibson Brothers mandolinist Jesse Brock also earned a nomination for Mandolin Player of the Year.

Compass claimed three of the five coveted Album of the Year spots with Peter Rowan’s The Old School, Claire Lynch’s Dear Sister, and The Gibson Brothers’ They Called It Music. Fast rising Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen were nominated for Emerging Artist of the Year, Instrumental Group of the Year, and Recorded Event of the Year for their collaboration with Tim O’Brien and Rob Ickes for “On The Edge of Letting Go” fromOn The Edge. Banjoist Mike Munford was also nominated for Banjo Player of the Year.

Additional nominees in the vocalist and instrumental categories include Dale Ann Bradley and Claire Lynch for Female Vocalist of the Year, Mark Schatz and Missy Raines for Bass Player of the Year, and Compass newcomer Michael Cleveland for Fiddle Player of the Year. Two artists were recognized in the Momentum Awards categories this year as well: guitarist Chris Luquette of Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen for Instrumental Performer and The Bankesters, who welcome a Band nomination in anticipation of their upcoming September 24th release Love Has Wheels.

Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), the trade association for the bluegrass music industry. Results of the balloting will be revealed at the International Bluegrass Music Awards on Thursday, September 26 as the centerpiece of the World of Bluegrass Week, held September 24-28 in Raleigh, North Carolina at which Compass artist Noam Pikelny will be the Keynote Speaker. The IBMA Awards Show will also be broadcast live on SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction).

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Compass Records | 916 19th Ave. S | Nashville, TN 37212

Noam Pikelny Reinterprets Classic Bluegrass Album

August 13, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Emily Amos (615) 320-7672

Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker

Plays Bill Monroe

3rd Solo Album from GRAMMY-Nominated Banjoist

Set for Oct 1st Release with Tour to Follow

(Nashville, TN) August 13, 2013 - Widely known for his work in cutting-edge string band music as a founding member of Punch Brothers, GRAMMY-nominated Noam Pikelny has emerged as the preeminent banjoist among a new generation of acoustic musicians. Already praised as “a player of unlimited range and astonishing precision” by comedian/banjoist Steve Martin, Pikelny now presents his new concept album, Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe (October 1st), a unique interpretation of traditional Bluegrass through a bold, complete adaptation of one of the most influential instrumental bluegrass records of all-time. Joining Pikelny on this tour de force project are the finest instrumentalists in bluegrass: Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Bryan Sutton (guitar), Ronnie McCoury (mandolin), and Mike Bub (bass). Listen to the track "Big Sandy River" here.

Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe, recorded in 1976, five years before Pikelny was even born, features twelve classic tunes written by the father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe (1911-1996), and performed by his longtime fiddler Kenny Baker (1926-2012). While many fine musicians worked for Bill Monroe, Monroe would introduce Kenny Baker to audiences as "the best in bluegrass." Baker’s fiddle brought an elegant and refined voice to Monroe’s music and Pikelny precisely transposes Baker’s versions to the banjo, note-for-note, track-by-track. It is the first bluegrass record that remakes an entire album in sequence, though never drifting into an exercise in musical impersonation; instead Pikelny uses the Monroe instrumentals as blueprints and springboards for his own improvisations and those of his band.

The album’s concept first came about when Pikelny jokingly texted McCoury, asking, “Could I get away with calling an album Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe?” It was over a year later that, upon reflecting on the joke, he began listening anew to Baker’s album, and saw that it offered him an opportunity to develop a unique banjoistic voice for that particular set of bluegrass standards. The end result, Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe, shows Pikelny at a new pinnacle of maturation as a banjo player and musician, redefining the role of the banjo in his own way with an unprecedented approach to melodic playing and thereby setting a new standard in bluegrass for years to come.

Pikelny will showcase the album on tour this October and November with a band that includes Bryan Sutton (guitar), Jesse Cobb (mandolin), Barry Bales (bass), and Luke Bulla (fiddle).

Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as the “pros’ top banjo picker," Pikelny released his solo debut, In the Maze, in 2004. In 2010, he was awarded the first annual Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass earning him an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. In 2011, Pikelny’s style and solo approach continued to crystallize with the release of his second album, Beat The Devil and Carry A Rail. The album hit both the Billboard Top Heatseekers and Bluegrass album charts and was the focus of a Funny or Die parody video starring Pikelny with appearances from Steve Martin, Ed Helms, Earl Scruggs, Chris Thile, Gillian Welch, and others. Beat The Devil and Carry A Rail went on to garner a GRAMMY nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. Noam Pikelny continues to broaden the awareness of the banjo in the mainstream through his work with Punch Brothers, collaborating with Wilco, Fiona Apple, Norah Jones, & Jon Brion for the soundtrack to This is 40, a feature song on The Hunger Games soundtrack, and a collaboration with Marcus Mumford for the upcoming Coen Brothers’ film, Inside Llewyn Davis.

Darden Smith Love Calling Now Available

August 02, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Texas Troubadour Darden Smith’s Love Calling Now Available

New "Behind-the-Song" Video and Album Release Tour Announced

(Nashville, TN) August 2, 2013 – Singer-songwriter Darden Smith earned his stripes in the in the early days of Americana, building devoted audiences on the Austin circuit in the 80s. Since then, Smith’s songwriting has taken him on a circuitous journey as a performer, philanthropist, collaborator, teacher, and now inevitably back to songwriter as he releases his Compass Records debut Love Calling. Earning accolades from USA Today and CMT to American Songwriter and Roughstock, Love Calling was recorded in Nashville and produced by Gary Paczosa and John Randall Stewart and features 11 news songs, including co-writes with Radney Foster, Gary Nicholson and the late Harley Allen. In a new "behind-the-song" video, Darden discusses his co-write with Allen and gives a very special performance of “Seven Wonders.” Watch here.

Smith kicked off a busy fall tour schedule with a CD release party at Waterloo Records in Austin on July 30th, and will follow with dates in Texas, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia as well as a UK tour this October. View his full tour schedule here.

For Darden Smith, the creatively expansive Texas troubadour, Love Callingrepresents both a full circle and fresh start. The album opens a new chapter in the artist’s prolific career, and it circles back to his musical roots. The release is Smith’s first in three years and the first for his new label, Compass Records. Surprisingly, Love Calling also represents the first time Smith has recorded in Nashville, co-writing much of the material with some of the city’s stellar songwriters and working with top studio musicians, under the co-production of Jon Randall Stewart and Gary Paczosa.

Yet for Smith, whose career has taken him all over the map, musically as well as geographically, the release also represents an artistic homecoming. The organic arrangements invoke the sound that established him as a breakout artist from the Texas club circuit in the mid-1980s, when he forged his style and found an audience that extended from country-folk traditionalists to those more attuned to contemporary trends.

As a young Lone Star storyteller, Smith’s songs paid proper homage to the likes of Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. Yet his ear for melodic invention and his embrace of modern recording technology subsequently suggested a pop sensibility with greater commercial potential. His roots nourished his music without inhibiting his artistry. During those formative years, Smith befriended many kindred spirits also getting their start. Some of those same musicians are now among the established veterans whose talents contribute so much to Love Calling.

“I first met (bassist) Michael Rhodes in 1988 on the road with Rosanne Cash,” he recalls. “And Jon Randall Stewart and I met in ‘89, at a festival in Switzerland. Radney Foster and I met in 1989 at Austin City Limits. So, it’s coming full circle with a lot of different relationships and friends. And, in a way, the sound on this record is closer to my first record, Native Soil, than anything I’ve done since. ‘Medicine Wheel’ on Love Calling is not really that different, structurally, from something I could have written when I was 25.”

Born in Brenham, Texas, in the wide-open spaces between Houston and Austin, Smith released the indie Native Soil in 1986. Strong critical response led to a deal with Epic Records in Nashville. His 1988 Darden Smithdebut for the label landed two singles on the country charts. But country music was changing, and so was Darden. He switched to the New York division of Columbia Records, began a fruitful songwriting partnership with Britain’s Boo Hewerdine (with whom he released Evidence, 1989), and earned critical raves and a wider audience beyond country with Trouble No More (1990) and Little Victories(1993). The former included “Frankie & Sue” and “Midnight Train,” both of which received significant airplay on the emerging adult album alternative (or Triple A) radio format. Little Victories featured “Loving Arms,” a Top Ten hit. Next, Smith moved to an independent label, Dualtone Music Group, with whom he produced a more personal trio of acclaimed albums: Sunflower (2002), Circo (2004), and Field of Crows (2005).

Smith is known for pursuing new creative paths and pushing himself past his comfort zone, keeping his music fresh long after others have fallen into the recycling routine. One such path was forged in the mid-1990’s when Smith began collaborating on dance/theater productions in Austin. This led to an even bigger challenge when he accepted a commission by the Austin Symphony to compose “Grand Motion,” performed in 1999. Both of these projects, which could be called sidelines, informed Smith’s self-released Marathon (2010), a haunting song cycle named for a remote town in West Texas.

As Smith puts it, “Exploring this other work forced me to look at how I was pigeonholing and limiting myself. Am I just a songwriter? A singer-songwriter? A folksinger? A musician? This opened up how I defined myself, no longer as just one thing. I was about 40 then and the last decade or so has been the most creative time of my work life.”

Smith’s expansive vision for his music extends well beyond being a singer-songwriter. Love Calling developed organically as Smith immersed himself in projects that kept him out of the spotlight but profoundly influenced his music—and the life his music reflects. In 2003, he launched The Be An Artist Program, which uses songwriting to help students discover their own creativity. From there, Smith created SongwritingWith, a program that taps into the power of collaborative songwriting to awaken creativity and give people faith in their own voice. Participants have ranged from homeless youths at Covenant House in Newark, New Jersey, corporate clients seeking conflict resolution, and service members returning from combat. Fall 2013 marks Smith’s second year as Artist-In-Residence at Oklahoma State University’s Institute For Creativity and Innovation, where he explores creativity with students in the classroom and in mentoring sessions.

Recognizing the plight of veterans suffering from PTSD and other injuries, Smith started SongwritingWith:Soldiers in 2012. But the first seed for this program was planted in 2009 with “Angel Flight,” which Smith wrote with his friend Radney Foster. The song honors pilots who fly the planes that bring fallen soldiers home. After Foster’s version and accompanying video achieved wide acclaim, Smith saw the healing possibilities of pairing professional songwriters with wounded soldiers. Smith’s take on “Angel Flight” appears on Love Calling. “Between heaven and earth, you’re never alone,” sings Smith in the voice of a pilot flying casualties from the battlefield. “On the angel flight, come on brother, I’m taking you home.” In its intimacy and purity, it’s another love song of sorts, a love that springs from empathy and respect rather than romance.

“With a lot of the work I’m doing now, these big projects, I kind of had to start operating beneath the radar. This allowed me the freedom and flexibility to look outside myself, says Smith. “I just opened up to these new possibilities, new ways of working. And the more I kept opening up and saying yes to new ideas, the more fun I had, the more creative things got. And the more songs I wrote.”

So, for Smith, Love Calling represents something of a culmination, a milestone, a circle completed. The album finds him pushing forward while looking back, bringing together projects that ultimately share the same creative energy.

As Darden maintains, “To me, it’s all the same, all music. Just music.”

Praise for Love Calling:

"Long considered one of Nashville’s top talents, Darden Smith mixes Country, Pop, Jazz, and Blues—all to sonic perfection...One of 2013’s best album releases (of any genre).” —Roughstock

"His burnished, smooth vocals are perfect…especially over a warm cup of cappuccino on a Sunday morning." —American Songwriter

“Full of top-notch songs–including half a dozen tracks co-written with folks like Foster, Gary Nicholson, and the late Harley Allen–it’s one of Smith’s best albums yet.” —Engine 145

"A mature, substantial, and certainly impactful album with each of the album’s eleven songs standing as sentinels of power, creating a formidable production."